Traditionally, absorbent articles have included a center absorbent portion having a body facing surface--that is, a surface that faces the perineum--, a garment facing surface, longitudinally extending sides and transverse ends. These articles generally include an absorbent core made of loosely associated hydrophilic materials, such as wood pulp. The body facing surface of the absorbent core is covered by a layer of body fluid pervious fabric, typically referred to as a "cover". The garment facing surface and the longitudinally extending sides of the absorbent core are enclosed by a layer of body fluid impervious material, typically referred to as a "barrier", that is preferably non-wicking and pervious to gases. These layers are sometimes sealed around the absorbent core by joining them together along their longitudinal and transverse edges so as to form flanges see, for example U.S. Pat. No. 4,678,527 (Ulman), assigned on its face to the same assignee as the current invention. In this arrangement, the cover and barrier each form a portion of the longitudinal sides of the center portion.
Alternatively, the barrier is sometimes formed into a C-shaped boat enclosing the garment facing surface and longitudinal sides of the absorbent core. In this case, the cover is wrapped around both the barrier boat and the absorbent core and the overlapping longitudinal edges of the cover are joined together--see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,200,103 (Black et al.), assigned on its face to the same assignee as the current invention. This alternative method is sometimes referred to as "flow wrapping".
Unfortunately, these approaches to forming the coverings for the absorbent article suffer from several drawbacks. First, although the barrier is effective in preventing leakage through the garment facing surface and the longitudinal sides of the article, it does not prevent leakage through the transverse ends of the article, which are, at best, only partially enclosed by the barrier.
Second, more recently, the cover forming the body facing surface has been formed from an apertured plastic film. Such films give the surface of the article a feeling of dryness against the skin, as compared to the more traditional fibrous non-woven fabrics used for the cover. Although the apertured plastic film is most useful as a covering for the body facing surface that is in contact with the perineum--that is, the surface subjected directly to the fluid flow--typically, the cover also encloses the longitudinal sides of the article that bear against the user's thighs. Experience has shown that although the apertured plastic film feels dry against the skin even after having been subjected to fluid flow, contact against the user's thighs produces the hot and sticky feeling associated with plastics, rather than the more comfortable feeling associated with contact by a fibrous non-woven fabric.
Consequently, it would be desirable to provide an absorbent article that was enclosed by a body fluid impervious barrier on its transverse ends as well as its longitudinal sides. It would also be desirable to provide an absorbent article that had an apertured plastic film on its body facing surface but a fibrous non-woven fabric on it longitudinal sides where contact is made with the thighs.